Some driving style observations from Baku:
It’s no shock to see Russell and Piastri simultaneously excelling whilst Hamilton and Norris struggled more.
HAM and NOR rely on heavy braking zones to generate their tyre temps, whereas RUS and PIA do it via higher lateral loads.
With these engines removing the heavier braking zones with the excessive clipping, HAM and NOR struggled to get their tyres working in the race.
VER and LEC are somewhere in the middle.
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Ferrari now solid 4th fastest, will not improve for the rest of the year.
McLaren have a better chassis, Red Bull & Mercedes have a (far) better engine.
1) Merc
2) McLaren, Red Bull (track dependent)
4) Ferrari
I don’t see anywhere the Ferrari will be ahead for the rest of the season with this engine, it hurts them everywhere
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1st runs in Q3 are never “useless”, especially at Monza where you can easily find a yellow flag.
Pointless debate about favouritism, rather it’s just a lack of operational efficiency.
The biggest point is that Lewis is actively trying to make changes but receives backlash from so-called “Tifosi” and Italian media for being the only driver forcing changes
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Lewis not having a tow in front, looking at the data here, is worth 0.350s alone in S3, along with another ~0.2s coming in S1 from entry speed and momentum into the first corner.
Definitely could’ve had a Top 3 start or at least fighting for it.
🚨 | Fred Vasseur on Lewis Hamilton’s quali:
"He had contact with the wall on his first lap in Q3, and that forced him to play catch-up a little."
"The margins are very small. We were all on different sequences on track, he was a bit on his own and therefore had no tow."
"That cost him one or two tenths. He probably would have gained a position, but that’s how it went."
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41
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16,949
Monza first runs (no banker, more pressure for last run)
Now Baku, Hamilton punching a hole in the air for a pack of cars whilst already having a massive engine deficit.
Yet he’s vilified asking for massive changes at Ferrari 🤦♂️
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yikes
MAX: THEE PIONEER
Max Verstappen reach has been rentless pioneer and super instrumental and role model for current f1 drivers. He's paved the way for current f1 drivers to feel confident enough try different series besides f1 and without teams restrictions.
Like here, Lando tested the MCL Hypercar that is debuting for WEC in 2027. The Papaya driver completed 38 laps.
Say what you want to say but the pull Max Verstappen has is unmatched, untold.
Community note
Lando Norris debuted in endurance racing at the 2018 24 Hours of Daytona, years before Max Verstappen's first endurance races and prior to this McLaren Hypercar test.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lando_Nor…
autoevolution.com/news/f1-five-f…
racer.com/2026/09/14/nor…
the-race.com/endurance/the-…
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Lewis could’ve won this quite easily with his strategy starting on the Softs (given Norris’ slow stop and VSC)
Charles still has a chance too
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Contributions from Monza
NOR -0.267% PIA
GAS -0.234% COL
BOT -0.182% PER
Note - this doesn’t not necessarily represent the full race, just the laps that are comparable through my methodology.
All laps with overtake mode for either driver are discarded
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I preferred having Monza with this yo-yo racing rather than the DRS trains of old, however we’re still dealing with extreme situations which can easily be fixed.
I don’t understand why they can’t vary the overtake mode rules by track. At places like Monza and Spa with these cars we can have very good organic racing without it.
At places like Zandvoort and Hungary though, it’s still not enough and I think more is required.
But of course F1 would never be open to such a logical idea
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